


Juneteenth '20

by Chanonvic



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Black history is American history, Brief reference to the Civil War, COVID doesn't exist, Canon Universe, Current Events, Gen, Juneteenth, Modern Era
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-05
Updated: 2021-03-05
Packaged: 2021-03-18 06:01:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 820
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29853642
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chanonvic/pseuds/Chanonvic
Summary: It had been a while since Alfred did this. Probably too long, he can admit to himself drily. Even so, the timing was perfect – not ideal, but meaningful. His people werehurting, and they needed this opportunity to heal and reflect and celebrate as much as he did.
Kudos: 2





	Juneteenth '20

It had been a while since Alfred did this. Probably too long, he can admit to himself drily. Even so, the timing was perfect – not ideal, but meaningful. His people were _hurting_ , and they needed this opportunity to heal and reflect and celebrate as much as he did.

Alfred tugged on a black hoodie and admired the reflection of the raised black fist outlined in white and styled to look spray painted on. He ran a hand through his hair to make it look artfully unkempt, and then he was ready to go.

He didn't have to travel far. Howard University was hosting a ceremony, and after that he'd heard rumors of a nearby block party. After a quick thought, he grabbed some cash from his dresser and pocketed it; he wasn't planning to be in any state to drive home that night.

* * *

Howard was being obnoxiously stuffy calling it a "ceremony." Between the marching band and majorettes, step teams, and D9 roll calls, it was more like a festival. Almost immediately after the opening words from the University president, there was music (melding seamlessly from the Black national anthem to the hits of the day), interrupted only by cheers and laughter from the audience. It was a _celebration_.

Still, the main event was the block party, and everyone under the age of thirty knew it. As soon as the ceremony ended, the college students, most of them just visiting the campus for the day or otherwise living nearby, splintered off into groups to figure out who was driving whom and where everyone would meet up. Alfred, who hadn't come with anyone, turned on his charm full force to slide into the nearest small group -- meaning he slipped the person who had been designated the driver a crisp twenty-dollar bill in exchange for saving him a seat – and soon he and the group were acting like old friends.

It was disconcerting chatting with these kids when he was old enough to be their great grand-something several times over. He'd been there when some of their ancestors had first been proclaimed free, could remember the way he'd insisted on standing behind Lincoln despite the bone-deep chill wracking his body, frail from the war, could feel the remnants of the first pangs of hope he'd felt in years. And here they were, outside in the breezy twilight on the _Howard_ campus, celebrating that freedom.

The only downside was that, partially incognito as he was, no one recognized him. That meant that he was the subject to quite a lot of pick-up attempts (which was weird, these were like his _children_ ). That also meant he got his fair share of questioning looks from a lot of the others. He'd expected this -- after all, he kind of stood out – but it didn't make the occurrence any less awkward. Still, those wary glances usually dissipated when they landed on his shirt, as though he passed some sort of entrance exam.

It was a quick drive from campus to block party. Well, to where they were supposed to park for the block party. The group could hear the bass of the music even as far as they were, and they joined the dozens of others headed in the same direction. The top of the sun was still visible above the horizon, lighting their path and revelry.

When he and the others finally turned onto the right corner, they were immediately hit with a wall of music coming from an impromptu DJ set up on a nearby porch. Dozens of folks were already filling the space, dancing and drinking and shouting and singing and merrymaking. Alfred waded through them, easily losing the group he'd arrived with, and soaked in the vibes. Not even an hour into the party and he was humming with the high spirits radiating from everyone around him. At some point, he stopped at a lawn with a dopey grin, high off emotion and watching the mesh of colors swirl by until a girl hung a glow stick necklace around his neck and pulled him out to dance.

The rest of the night passed in much the same blur until he stopped to catch his breath. Alfred spent the moment leaning against the bannister of a porch and looking out over the packed street, the crowd of revelers stretching end to end down the block. He was far from the only white-passing person there, but it was moments like this one that reminded him of the narrow but profound gulf between them. That he was _with_ them and _of_ them, but not always _for_ them, and that implications of this relationship had stuck in his throat like a fever cough for centuries.

And then the DJ put on a line dance, and those closest to him were tugging him back onto the street, and there was no way he was resisting the Cupid Shuffle.

**Author's Note:**

> Just missed Black History Month, but, hey, every month should be Black history month. Also, I have no clue if Howard University actually has a Juneteenth ceremony, but (a) it should and (b) it is the only Historically Black College/University in Washington, DC, where I wanted to depict Alfred as living.   
> \---  
>  _Juneteenth is the holiday celebrated on 19 of June to commemorate the emancipation of enslaved people in the US. The holiday was first celebrated in Texas, where on that date in 1865, in the aftermath of the Civil War, slaves were declared free under the terms of the 1862 Emancipation Proclamation._


End file.
